Guard Kids' Eyes Against Long-Term Sun Damage

17/05/2010 15:53

With May designated as UV awareness month, experts are calling on jacketsparents to pay special heed to the safety of their children's eyes this summer.
Although eye protection is a concern for people of Monclerall ages, Prevent Blindness America, the nation's oldest eye health and safety organization, warns that children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful ultraviolet A and B (UVA and UVB) damage that can accompany sun exposure.
For one, children generally spend more time in moncler vest the sun, the group noted. In addition, the organization highlights the American Optometric Association's cautionary finding that the lenses of young eyes are more transparent than that of adults, risking retinal exposure to a greater degree of short wavelength light.
"We need to remember to protect our eyes from UV every day ofMoncler Hoody the year," Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America, said in a news release. "UV rays reflecting off the water, sand, pavement and even snow are extremely dangerous. We can encourage our children to wear the proper eye protection by leading by example."
UV exposure has been linked tomoncler sale the onset of cataracts, macular degeneration and a wide array of eye health issues, the experts noted.
Prevent Blindness America advises that everyone who goes out in moncler menthe sun should wear sunglasses that block out 99 percent to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB radiation -- noting that sunglasses without such protection can actually cause the pupils to dilate, thereby doing more harm than good.
A wide-brimmed hat or cap also offers some measure of moncler womeneye protection, the group suggested.
With specific respect to children, Prevent Blindness America further encourages parents to ensure that sunglasses fit their child's face properly and shields the sun's rays from all directions. The group points out that wrap-around sunglasses might be optimal in the later regard, because they additionally protect the skin immediately surrounding a child's eyes.
Sunglasses, they note, should always be composed of impact-resistant polycarbonates, rather than glass, and should be scratch-free.
Study: A Link Between Pesticides and ADHD
Studies linking environmental substances tomoncler clothing disease are coming fast and furious. Chemicals in plastics and common household goods have been associated with serious developmental problems, while a long inventory of other hazards are contributing to rising rates of modern ills: heart disease, obesity, diabetes, autism.
Add attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) toMoncler Jackets the list. A new study in the journal Pediatrics associates exposure to pesticides to cases of ADHD in the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. alone, an estimated 4.5 million children ages 5 to 17 have ever been diagnosed with ADHD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and rates of diagnosis have risen 3% a year between 1997 and 2006. Increasingly, research suggests that chemical influences, perhaps in combination with other environmental factors - like video gaming, hyperkinetically edited TV shows and flashing images in educational DVDs aimed at infants - may be contributing to the increase in attention problems.(See pictures of inside a school for autistic children.)
Led by Maryse Bouchard in Montreal, researchers based at the University of Montreal and Harvard University examined the potential relationship between ADHD and exposure to certain toxic pesticides called organophosphates. The team analyzed the levels of pesticide residues in the urine of more than 1,100 children aged 8 to 15 years old, and found that those with the highest levels of dialkyl phosphates, which are the breakdown products of organophosphate pesticides, also had the highest incidence of ADHD. Overall, they found a 35% increase in the odds of developing ADHD with every 10-fold increase in urinary concentration of the pesticide residues. The effect was seen even at the low end of exposure: kids who had any detectable, above-average level of the most common pesticide metabolite in their urine were twice as likely as those with undetectable levels to record symptoms of the learning disorder.
"I was quite surprised to see an effect at lower levels of exposure," says Bouchard, who used data on ADHD from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a long-term study of health parameters of a representative sample of U.S. citizens.(Read how fidgeting can help kids with ADHD learn.)
Bouchard's analysis is the first to hone in on organophosphate pesticides as a potential contributor to ADHD in young children. But the author stresses that her study uncovers only an association, not a direct causal link between pesticide exposure and the developmental condition. There is evidence, however, that the mechanism of the link may be worth studying further: organophosphates are known to cause damage to the nerve connections in the brain - that's how they kill agricultural pests, after all. The chemical works by disrupting a specific neurotransmitter, acetylcholinesterase, a defect that also been implicated in children diagnosed with ADHD. In animal models, exposure to the pesticides has resulted in hyperactivity and cognitive deficits as well.
"I am very confident in the correlation in this study, because we controlled for quite a few things that we thought could play a role," says Bouchard. "Adjusting for those things did not change the results very much. Which indicates that there is very little potential for confounding in this association between pesticides and ADHD."
The results also call for additional studies toMoncler Jackets on sale determine exactly which foods and which residential uses of pesticides may be most likely to lead to harm in children. Although Bouchard's study did not determine the exact method of exposure in the participants, youngsters are most likely to ingest the chemicals through their diet - by eating fruits and vegetables that have been sprayed while growing - according to the National Academy of Sciences. The study also raises the possibility of setting a national threshold for safe levels of exposure; the study authors note that according to the U.S. Pesticide Residue Program report, organophosphates were detected in 28% of frozen blueberries, and in 19% of celery samples tested for pesticides. It is not clear whether those levels pose a threat to cognitive function in children, the current study's findings suggest it may be wise to figure it out.
In the meantime, Bouchard suggests that concerned parents try to avoid using bug sprays in the home, and to feed their children organically grown fruits and vegetables, if possible. (Otherwise, parents should be careful to scrub all produce to reduce residues.) While pesticide-free fruits and greens may be more costly, Bouchard says they may be worth the price in terms of future health.Moncler Light JacketsMoncler women HoodyMoncler women T-shirtMoncler women Polo shirtMoncler men Light Jackets